Explore

Following the controversial documentary ‘Explore: Manila to Mindanao’, public opinion was split as to whether Philippines was once again negatively portrayed or whether the hard realities came as a bit of a rude awakening! At 11:20, on 19th February BBC2 showed a follow up of the documentary titled ‘Explore: Sex and Religion in Manila’ shedding more light on the impending reproductive health bill currently being decided upon in the Philippines.

With Manila being the fastest growing city in Asia, the main question coming out of the show was what was the cause of poverty? Is it overpopulation caused by a lack of contraception and sexual health education? Or is it caused by poor governance from those in charge?

The answer is anyone’s guess, but must ultimately arrive at the door of those in charge. Philippines has long been classed as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, let alone Asia. It is naive for anyone to simply blame the Catholic Church of using religious doctrine or to blame married couples for having too many kids. Families are often not planned, and whether you are rich or poor, you will never have enough to fully satisfy the needs of your family.

The family profiled in the show are indicative of many all across the Philippines. Prior to marriage, seminars are given by pastoral councillors promoting spiritual and matrimonial wellbeing as well as the finer details of the natural method of reproduction. In many places contraception such as the pill and condoms are almost impossible to get your hands on. So simply saying do not have anymore kids is not that simple for a lot of people.

Although corruption, the power of the Church, overpopulation and poverty are all factors, as with the first documentary there was no real attempt to look at the current administration in the Philippines. Why is that? In both documentaries, those political figures interviewed were former First Lady Imelda Marcos, former Mayor of Manila Lito Atienza and former President Joseph Estrada. Quite how much influence they have on current decision-making policy is questionable.

We have to put things into perspective, these weren’t hard-hitting journalists trying to attain answers. These were journalists profiling a diverse, contradictive country in Asia whose profile is steadily rising. Philippines has gone from a poor country with kids rummaging through rubbish dumps and women selling sex to tourists to a country where old ways are clashing with new, where influence is shifting from the church and political hierarchy to the technological, media savvy globalised young generation of today, where bigger issues like political killings, kidnappings, Islamic freedom and reproductive health are being brought to the attention of the world.

We should celebrate the fact these issues have been exposed to a wider audience. We shouldn’t be ashamed of our problems, we need to address them.

At 9.20pm on Sunday, 15th February, BBC2 screened a programme titled ‘Manila to Mindanao’ as the final episode in the ‘Explore’ series from broadcaster and New York Times best selling author, Simon Reeve. The prior three episodes had taken him to Argentina, East Africa and Turkey. He was joined in the Philippines by young journalist Seyi Rhodes and BBC correspondent Katya Adler.As with all programmes seemingly documenting the Philippines, there was a lack of positive images and stories. Not to mention the random oriental sounding music which was offensive. After watching the programme, you would feel like the country is in freefall! BUT we have to remember, this was not a tourist holiday programme!

They did discuss relevant issues from the modernisation of the country affecting the traditional way of life both in Luzon and in Palawan, the Catholic doctrine that still dominates our country, they touched upon the political tension with regards to killings and kidnappings, the long-running conflict between the Communist NPA (New People’s Army) and the Philippine Army and then went to southern Mindanao and spoke to a Muslim teacher on their struggle for independence for the Bangsamoro Nation. They even interviewed Imelda Marcos! We have to admit as Filipinos that the truth hurts and we need to understand these issues!

These are all issues we are all aware of but rarely discuss and sometime dismiss…BUT WHY?The biggest reason is that we do not really know what the details are. If we want to know more and make a difference then we should discuss and research the issues affecting our country and then register to vote and make a difference by electing a new Government…if that is what you believe it will take. Dual-Citizenship entitles you to vote in the Philippines, although you cannot run for office as a dual-citizen!

Going back to the issues discussed in the programme, modernisation is a problem every country face and is why indigenous peoples such as the Aborigines, Maoris and Native Americans fight hard to maintain their traditions and culture, it is no wonder the same thing is happening in the Philippines. Spain grouped over 7,000 islands as the Philippines and expected us all to become countrymen, this is why Wales and Scotland have a degree of Independence within Britain and why India was split into India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka when the British left. To a certain degree this tribal history still exists, with people from Ilocos, Pampanga, Manila and Visayas, to name but a few, having distinct differences and separate associations and community groups.

The situation in the southern Mindanao region, which should not dominate the country’s news is one that is very complicated. You have an Islamic ethinic group claiming persecution, with a country and nationality thrust upon them, claiming that their people are being killed, this could be Sarajevo or Gaza. The Bangsamoro Nation believe they were never conquered by Spain and have had their land taken from them and so want it back. However this would open up a can of worms. In a previous article, Philippine Generations wrote about a movement to rename the Philippines, thus erasing our dependent history to Spain and establishing a new independent identity. Should the Islamic southern Mindanao region be made an independent state, what is stopping the Ifugao, Igorot and Aeta people’s caiming the same? The country would be in an even bigger mess!

The political tension in the Philippines is taken for granted by those of us in the UK. Many of us do not know what life was like under Marcos’ martial law, or how now after liberation, military coups and corrupt presidencies, journalists and left-wing thinkers still fear for their lives. This is a major issue when countries in the west raise questions on safety and freedom in the Philippines.

There have been more political and Islamic killings in Thailand than the Philippines in the last 5 years, yet Thailand is still held up as a paradise holiday destination. So perhaps all we need is good publicity as their political situation is in worse shape than ours! Even after the demonstration at the Thai airport stopping flights and disrupting western holidaymakers people still believe the Philippines would be more dangerous to visit!

With regards to the issue of contraception, this is a major stumbling block with regards to the development of the country. More children born into poverty increases all the negative stereotypes you can imagine, disease, lack of education, crime, prostitution, death, starvation, to name but a few. It is somewhat irresponsible to discourage the use of contraception. The argument is that outside of marriage people should not be having sex, but part of the problem is married couples having too many to afford. The thinking of the Church is that it will create an atmosphere and culture of free and easy sex as pregnancy can be prevented although they also believe it will encourage abortion, something that could not happen if contraception is used. This is not an issue of religion, but more of education and one that is very much needed in the Philippines. At least we do not have an AIDS epidemic as in India or Africa, otherwise the lack of condoms would be disastrous.Okay they talked about the people living in the Cemetery, it was featured in the Times last year, so they must have felt it was in the public interest. At least they didn’t show Smokey Mountain again or the Manila sex clubs! We should take this as a positive step as they are dealing with bigger issues. Let’s not forget they profiled the rice terraces, described as the 8th wonder of the world, the Church in Quiapo and the Black Nazarene procession which was positive. Not to mention the Tarsier preservation and the Eco-tourism development. At the end, they did say despite the problems, the Philippines is one of the most beautiful places you can visit.

At the end of the day, if you feel positive or negative about the programme, we should discuss the issues more, but as some might say the truth hurts. If we really want to change the perception people have of the Philippines we should get involved in the decision making process by voting on issues in the Philippines, we should get involved in community and not for profit groups and organisations like Philippine Generations, FilmeFilms, New-Manila, the Philippine Community Fund, Philippine United FC, PNA-UK, Philly4Life, PinoysfinestUK and Phil-UK to name but a few. We should also advertise the Philippines to non-Filipinos we know and we should support positive examples of the Philippines and positive Filipino events. We should also promote positive role models providing a positive face of the Philippines, such as Manny Pacquiao, Allen Pineda AKA apl, David Medalla, Mutya Buena.

How brilliant would it be if Myleene Klass came out and said she was Filipino and proud??!!!!!

There are so many comments and views being contributed on facebook and the Internet. This shows people have an opinion and people care, but we should not be embarrassed of what people think of the Philippines, we should be trying to change what people think of the Philippines.

The episode can still be viewed and downloaded from the BBC website. Below is the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00htg7d

If you have any views or would like to discuss anything written in this article, please do not hesitate to leave a comment.